Fuel Fix reports that “tank cars that carry crude oil across the United States would have to meet stringent new standards to improve safety and make them more resilient in an accident under proposed new rules unveiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation on Wednesday.”  

“The proposals call for phasing out rupture-prone cars built before October 2011 for the shipment of flammable liquids, including ethanol and crude oil, unless those cars are retrofitted to meet sweeping new design standards that could include thicker shells, better brakes and rollover protection.”  

“The proposed tougher standards would alter the way high-hazard flammable substances such as crude and ethanol are shipped across the country at a time of massive growth in crude transport by rail. Last year, 415,000 rail-carloads of crude moved across the U.S. compared to 9,500 rail-carloads in 2008, according to the transportation department.”